Ballard

Help sought in

child-assault case

The parents of a transgender child in Ballard who was beaten with a baseball bat two weeks ago are asking for the public's help to find the attacker.

The parents told the neighbors and the My Ballard community website their daughter was attacked Aug. 16 as she crossed the street at 28th Avenue Northwest and Northwest 67th Street.

According to a Seattle Police Department report a female, who was accompanied by a male, came up to the couple's daughter saying, "I don't want to see you around the skate bowl anymore." The Ballard Commons Park, at 5701 22nd Avenue Northwest, has a skate bowl.

The female then struck the couple's daughter on the right side of the head with a baseball bat. She was taken to a hospital, where a portion of her skull was removed, according to police.

The victim was wearing female clothing at the time, police said. Her parents say she was born a male but considers herself a female and often dresses that way.

The person who attacked their daughter is believed to hang out at the skate bowl. No description of her was provided. The parents are asking anyone with information to contact Seattle police at 206-625-5011 and reference case number 2011-273665.

Bellevue

Murderer out after

almost 7 years

A convicted murderer who wasn't caught for two decades is a free man. KING5 reports that John Athan walked out of the Stafford Creek Correctional Facility in Aberdeen Monday after serving less than seven years of a 10-year prison sentence.

Athan, 43, was 14 when he murdered 13-year-old Kristen Sumstad and left her body in a box behind a TV store in Seattle's Magnolia neighborhood.

Athan will move to the Redmond area, KING reports, where he has been given a job at his brother's ironworking business. He will also live in his brother's home.

The Department of Corrections has classified Athan as "high-risk non violent," meaning he is considered at high risk to commit another crime, but not a violent crime, KING says.

Sumstad's family contended Kristen was raped, but Athan was not convicted of any sex offense, and therefore does not have to register as a sex offender.

Seattle

Ferry fares to rise

in Oct. and May

State ferry fares will rise 2.5 percent Oct. 1, and 3 percent more in May, part of a new fare schedule adopted last week by the Washington State Transportation Commission. There will also be a 25-cent fee added to all fares to help pay for new ferries.

The increases are intended to raise $310 million. Other changes adopted by the commission include:

• Small-vehicle discount: Vehicles under 14 feet will pay 90 percent of the standard fare beginning Oct. 1; then 80 percent in May and 70 percent in 2013.

• Elimination of annual bike permits: Beginning Oct. 1, all customers, except those traveling to the San Juan Islands or Sidney, B.C., who have monthly passes, multi-ride cards or ORCA ePurse can bring bicycles on a ferry at no additional charge. Bicycle surcharges will continue on all routes for passengers buying single-fare tickets.

• Fuel surcharge: To cover price spikes, a new surcharge will be activated when fuel costs exceed the average by 2.5 percent. Based on the price of $3.86 per gallon, fuel prices would have to rise to about $4 a gallon to trigger a surcharge. The surcharge could be no more than 10 percent.

Seattle

Online university

gets Gates grant

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded a $4.5 million grant to Western Governors University, the private, nonprofit online university aimed at working adults.

The funds will go toward development and outreach at three branches of the university, in Washington state, Indiana and Texas, as well to launch other state subsidiaries. The chancellor of the Washington branch, which was launched this year, is Jean Floten, the former president of Bellevue College.

The university, established in 1997, said it now has 25,000 students.

Tacoma

4th conviction

in slaying over ring

The fourth and final defendant in the robbery and killing of a man who advertised a ring on Craigslist has been convicted in Tacoma.

The Pierce County prosecutor's office says 24-year-old Clabon Berniard will face the equivalent of life in prison when he is sentenced Sept. 9 in Superior Court.

The jury found him guilty Monday of robbery, burglary, assault and murder charges for the April 2010 home invasion shooting of 43-year-old James Sanders of Edgewood.

Three others who went to the home pretending to be interested buyers were convicted and sentenced to lengthy terms in prison.

Seattle

Judge says boy can

live with stepmom

A Washington state judge says a teenage boy can keep living with his father and stepmother, even though the woman killed her own young daughters in 1991.

However, King County Superior Court Judge William Downing in Seattle also overturned a family law commissioner's decision in the case. That means the boy's biological mother can continue to seek arrangements that would keep the child from being around his stepmom.

Trisha Conlon had two boys with her former husband, John P. Cushing Jr., in the 1990s. But they split up several years ago, and John Cushing has since gotten back together with his first wife, Kristine.

She was found not guilty by reason of insanity after shooting their 4- and 8-year old daughters in California's Orange County.

Nicaragua

Man convicted

in drug trafficking

A former Tacoma resident was convicted by a Nicaraguan court Monday of money laundering and drug trafficking.

Jason Puracal, who was raised in Tacoma and attended the University of Washington, has been jailed since November.

"The family is deeply hurt by this news and will be making a statement to the press tomorrow [Tuesday]," said a message from Lobeline Communications, a public relations firm representing the family.

Puracal will be sentenced Sept. 6, and his defense will have six days to file an appeal, the firm said.

Puracal moved to Nicaragua nine years ago and worked in real estate, according to news clips. He is married and has a 6-year-old son.

A Facebook page has been set up as well as a Free Jason P webpage, which says Puracal has two younger sisters in Seattle and is a 1995 graduate of Henry Foss High School.

Grants Pass, Ore.

Couple settles in

'treesort' lawsuit

A Kirkland couple has settled a lawsuit against Josephine County for $1.2 million after they were injured in a fall at a bed-and-breakfast that calls itself a "treesort" the rooms are treehouses.

The Grants Pass Daily Courier reports the federal court suit was filed after a 2008 fall from a suspended bridge at the Out 'n' About establishment near the California border.

The suit says Michelle Buswinka and Maurice Breslin were having their picture taken when the railing they were holding broke. The suit blamed the county for faulty work on inspections and permits.

County Legal Counsel Steve Rich says the county's insurance company recently agreed to settle the claim.

Times staff and news services